The Essex Street Water Gate, London WC2

A plate from The Romance of London by Alan Ivimey (1931).
London’s water gates date from the time before the building of the embankment and the road on the north side of the river, when the tidal wash reached a lot closer to the buildings (and former palaces) that follow The Strand and Fleet Street. The gate in Essex Street is still impressive and was used for a time as an emblem by Methuen publishers when they had their premises here.

Methuen imprint (1931).

An etching by Edgar Holloway (1934).

Methuen imprint (1948).

The Water Gate as it was on the afternoon of 18th May, 2006.
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2 Comments, Comment or Ping
#1 posted by Eroom Nala
The windows and the arch make it look like a robotic unhappy face.
why is the left pillar at a slight angle in the engraving?
May 24th, 2006
#2 posted by John
Edgar Holloway has quite a loose drawing style. He was an artist, not an architectural renderer so there’s not the same necessity for accuracy of perspective. His treatment reminds me of Charles Meryon.
May 24th, 2006
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